Health & Safety News

Cloud-based LMS – What does this mean?

You learn something new every day, as they say. Why not work out how to cement your feet and get ahead of the game before we roll into 2018. Companies should be re-shaping and be shifting into the digital world. In the not so distant future, the cloud will be everywhere and used for everything. Ok, so we’ve addressed the growth of the cloud, let’s focus our attention on LMS.

Let’s tackle the abbreviation first, LMS stands for Learning Management System. Its a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting, and delivery of educational courses or training programs. LMS can help with onboarding, retention, training, legal compliance, continuing education and more.

Technology has innovated learning. The LMS Market is expected to grow to AUD 20.55 BILLION by 2021. As the LMS market becomes more established in education and business, it’s important to know that you are keeping up with the trends.

LMS has made it easier than ever for all types of organisations to create, update, organise and distribute courses to boost learners’ engagement and knowledge retention. From videos to live-virtual classrooms, to online learning materials that are available anytime, anywhere, technology has shaken up how people engage and process information.

When it comes to LMS you can’t jump in all guns blazing in the search for the biggest, shiniest techie system. Let’s head back to basics and work out what you need to consider when choosing which system to invest in for LMS.

Consider this

Does it need to be SCORM compliant? Is it replacing an existing learning management tool? Are you doing your course authoring in-house or getting your content elsewhere? Do you want this built in with all other compliance, health and safety management?

With so many questions, it’s hard to know where to start. So I suggest starting with the most basic spec hurdle: cloud vs. on-premise hosting.

Cloud tech gets a lot of limelight. Which makes sense, as over 87% of LMS users have selected to go for the web-based option. The figures don’t lie – the eLearning software world is now dominated by the cloud. Source: Capterra
Cloud has its advantages, but so does on-premise. Weighing up your options and needs will help you clear up this step and make your life easier, going forward.

Entering Cloud-9

Hold on a minute…What is the cloud?
Cloud hosting means that your software is housed in warehouses full of hard drives. They still have physical storage, it’s just physical storage you don’t have to manage.
Now that we’ve got that cleared up, we can have a look at why learning management systems are so popular. The ability to build this within your health and safety software system is another advantage, but first, let’s run the pros and cons.

Pros:

Flexibility

The number-one upside to online software storage is how wonderfully flexible it is. In fact, if you look around the internet for reasons online software is awesome, many of them point to the cloud. It’s available online and can be accessed anywhere with internet. The use of multi-device allows you to access LMS whether you’re on the go or back in the office.

Convenience

Online software allows anyone to access the material anywhere, so long as they have an internet connection. This is where (almost) all tech is going. With Donesafe’s system, you could use this with offline functionalities which would sync at a date later when you reach an internet connection. It means that if your employees can get to your LMS regardless of where they are and when they want to use it. Users are able to get learning management documents on their mobile devices. It means that your learners don’t need to worry about leaving their information at home or missing deadlines. Convenience is something that an installed system simply cannot provide.

Cons:

May not work for older tech

I’m assuming, that you either have fairly modern technology in your office or that you’d very much like to have modern technology. If your business environment experiences some technological arrested development, because of the nature of the work, the open-mindedness of the staff or bosses, budgets or some other reason, you simply may not be ready for cloud LMS software. However, give us a call and we’d be happy to provide further guidance or help you out with transitioning.

Downtime is possible

Every computer has the potential to crash if you overload it. In the case of cloud-storage warehouses, crashes are handled as quickly as possible. However, every system has the potential for downtime, even if it’s planned for maintenance.
No matter how quickly a host tries to handle their crashes and downtime, you’re still stuck waiting until the software solves the problems on their end. With on-premise, you can troubleshoot your own issues.

Recommendations

On-Premise LMS

Let’s head back down to the ground floor. Solid ground and out of the clouds. If it’s not on the cloud, where is it? Some people might want you to think on-premise software is more than down to Earth but it could, in fact, be fully dead and buried? That said, there really are some cases where installed software is superior.

Pros:

Quicker fixes

Got a problem? If you have your own IT team, problem solved. You have a lot more control over when and how your downtime and maintenance happens when you locally own your own software.

Zilch internet needed

How reliable is the internet in your workplace? Maybe you find yourself or your employees are often on the road or working from areas that lack a steady internet connection. No more excuses, the need for completing training courses is a must for all companies and we get that.
This is exactly when an installed learning management system is helpful. It keeps your work from vanishing or pausing just because the internet decides it no longer wants to respond.

Long-term savings

The initial startup costs of owning and operating your own software on-premise is a bit higher. However, much like owning your own home or car, over time you come out ahead of the “renters.” In the long-run, hosting your own software on-site can save you some bucks along the way.

Cons:

Walking with Dinosaurs

I’ll admit it, even though the installed software isn’t dead yet… it isn’t exactly a spring chicken, either. And, yes, the fact that many of the on-premise software offerings out there can either be installed or hosted in the cloud is a sign that, sooner or later, the vendor will switch to being cloud only.

Eats up space

If you have hefty software, it’s going to take up a whole heap of space. If this is an LMS that’s going to be run on computers that also need to run other software, you might want to consider investing in an external hard drive to keep space clear and keep your hardware humming smoothly.

Cloud LMS or On-Premise: Who’s the real winner here?

No matter what you pick, you’re a winner!
However, the crowd-pleaser and destined favourite would have to be cloud-based LMS built into your Donesafe health and compliance system. Think of the other pro’s – your whole onboarding process could be completed in one system. Music to your ears? You can throw in all your existing eLearning documents into our platform and you’re good to go.

For a paperless, jargon-free business safety solution that you can manage from your phone, click here to get in contact and ask about how you can try Donesafe for FREE or visit our features page to find out more.